Conjugated Polymer-Based Electrical Sensor for Ultratrace Vapor-Phase Detection of Nerve Agent Mimics

Considering the vital need to strengthen the national security emanating from chemical threats, a low-cost, portable ultrasensitive electrical sensor for real-time monitoring of diethylchlorophosphate (DCP) (nerve gas mimic) has been developed. The device consists of a "simple to be fabricated" two-terminal resistor and an electronic combinational circuit for rapid onsite detection of lethal nerve gas vapors with high degree of accuracy in milliseconds. This device is a smart readout electronic model that detects ultratrace DCP vapors by bright visual alerts from light-emitting diode (LED) and loud alarm signal without the need for employing a sophisticated instrument. To obtain high sensitivity and discriminating response, a novel amine-functionalized conjugated polymer (CP) is designed as a sensory channel material for two-terminal sensor. The low-powered poly(3-(9,9-dioctyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl)benzene-1,2-diamine) (PFPDA) fabricated two-terminal electrical sensor is tested at ambient conditions, which shows excellent sensitivity toward nerve gas mimic DCP, with a rapid response in 3 s and a very low limit of detection (LOD) of 5.88 ppb. The amine moiety of PFPDA CP plays a vital role in redox interaction between the semiconductor CP and organophosphates, which ultimately leads to the amplified current signal. The redox interactions occurring among the organophosphate analytes and the amine functional group on the PFPDA backbone provided insights into the mechanism of sensing, which formed the basis of the excellent sensitivity and discriminating ability of this sensor device. The newly designed PFPDA CP-based portable electrical sensor device demonstrates a key contribution in the field of portable electronics for defense safety and environmental monitoring applications.